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IPad
iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., which run the iOS mobile operating system. The first iPad was released on April 3, 2010; the most recent iPad models are the iPad (2018), released on March 27, 2018, the 10.5-inch (270 mm) and 12.9-inch (330 mm) 2nd generation iPad Pro released on June 13, 2017. The user interface is built around the device's multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard. All iPads can connect via Wi-Fi; some models also have cellular connectivity.As of May, 2017, Apple has sold more than 360 million iPads,though sales peaked in 2013.It is the most popular tablet computer by sales as of the second quarter of 2018.An iPad can shoot video, take photos, play music, and perform Internet functions such as web-browsing and emailing. Other functions – games, reference, GPS navigation, social networking, etc. – can be enabled by downloading and installing apps. As of March, 2016, the App Store has more than one million apps for the iPad by Apple and third parties. There have been eight versions of the iPad. The first generation established design precedents, some of which, such as the home button placement, have persisted through all models. The 2nd-generation iPad (iPad 2) introduced a new thinner design, a dual-core Apple A5 processor, and VGA front-facing and 720p rear-facing cameras designed for FaceTime video calling. The third generation added a Retina Display, the new Apple A5X processor with a quad-core graphics processor, a 5-megapixel camera, HD 1080p video recording, voice dictation, and 4G (LTE). The fourth generation added the Apple A6X processor and replaced the 30-pin connector with an all-digital Lightning connector. The iPad Air added the Apple A7 processor and the Apple M7 motion coprocessor, and reduced the thickness for the first time since the iPad 2. The iPad Air 2 added the Apple A8X processor, the Apple M8 motion coprocessor, an 8-megapixel camera, and the Touch ID fingerprint sensor; and further reduced the thickness. The iPad introduced in 2017 added the Apple A9 processor, while sacrificing some of the improvements the iPad Air 2 introduced in exchange for a lower launch price. There have been four versions of the iPad Mini, all of which have a screen size of 7.9 inches (20 cm). The first generation has similar internal specifications to the iPad 2 but uses the Lightning connector instead. The iPad Mini 2 added the Retina Display, the Apple A7 processor, and the Apple M7 motion coprocessor, closely matching the internal specifications of the iPad Air. The iPad Mini 3 added the Touch ID fingerprint sensor. The iPad Mini 4 features the Apple A8 and the Apple M8 motion coprocessor. There have been two generations of the iPad Pro. The first generation came with 9.7" and 12.9" screen sizes, while the second came with 10.5" and 12.9" sizes. The iPad Pros have unique features such as the Smart Connector, which are exclusive to this series of iPads.The iPad's (first two generations) touchscreen display is a 1,024 by 768 pixel, 7.75×5.82 in (197×148 mm) liquid-crystal display (diagonal 9.7 in (246.4 mm)), with fingerprint- and scratch-resistant glass. Steve Jobs said a 7-inch screen would be "too small to express the software" and that 10 inches was the minimum for a tablet screen.Like the iPhone, the iPad is designed to be controlled by bare fingers; normal, non-conductive gloves and styli do not work,although there are special gloves and capacitive styli designed for this use.The display responds to other sensors: an ambient light sensor to adjust screen brightness and a 3-axis accelerometer to sense iPad orientation and switch between portrait and landscape modes. Unlike the iPhone and iPod Touch's built-in applications, which work in three orientations (portrait, landscape-left and landscape-right), the iPad's built-in applications support screen rotation in all four orientations, including upside-down. Consequently, the device has no intrinsic "native" orientation; only the relative position of the home button changes.There are four physical switches on the iPad, including a home button near the display that returns the user to the main menu, and three plastic physical switches on the sides: wake/sleep and volume up/down, plus a software-controlled switch whose function has changed with software updates. Originally the switch locked the screen to its current orientation, but the iOS 4.2 changed it to a mute switch, with rotation lock now available in an onscreen menu.In the iOS 4.3 update, released with the iPad 2, a setting was added to allow the user to specify whether the side switch was used for rotation lock or mute.The first generation iPad had no camera; the iPad 2 has a front VGA camera and a rear-facing 720p camera, both capable of still images (but these are only taken at a low quality 0.3 megapixels) and 30fps video. The rear-facing camera has a 5× digital zoom for still images only. Both shoot photo and video in a 4:3 fullscreen aspect ratio, unlike the iPhone 4, which shoots in a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. Unlike the iPhone, the iPad does not support tap to focus, but does allow a tap to set auto exposure.The cameras allow FaceTime video messaging with iPhone 4, fourth generation iPod Touch, and Snow Leopard, Lion, and Mountain Lion Macs.The iPad has two internal speakers reproducing left and right channel audio located on the bottom-right of the unit. In the original iPad, the speakers push sound through two small sealed channels leading to the three audio ports carved into the device,while the iPad 2 has its speakers behind a single grill.9 A volume switch is on the right side of the unit. A 3.5-mm TRRS connector audio-out jack on the top-left corner of the device provides stereo sound for headphones with or without microphones and/or volume controls. The iPad also contains a microphone that can be used for voice recording. 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